RIYADH: On the occasion of the approval of the 2024 budget, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Chairman of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs, hailed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) achievements since the launch of the KSA’s Vision 2030, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Wednesday.
The Crown Prince praised the Saudi government for its current endeavours to implement structural reforms in the economic and financial sectors, as well as to accelerate the rate of sustainable economic growth as per the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 and its vast development abilities and opportunities to move forward towards a better future that befits its status in as per the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, which had a clear and prominent impact on the increase of the gross domestic product (GDP) of non-oil activities, the SPA maintained.
HRH Crown Prince: We are Moving Towards Better Future that Befits Kingdom's Status.https://t.co/PVVWiRbTfX#SaudiBudget2024 | #SPAGOV pic.twitter.com/kJ8UQGE7PX
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According to the SPA, the Crown Prince also affirmed the government’s commitment in the budget for the fiscal year 2024 to enhancing economic growth through the expansion of government spending, pointing out that the figures of the budget announced by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques support and enable various programs and initiatives including investments to strengthen infrastructure, increase the quality of services provided to citizens, visitors and residents, in addition to developing promising economic fields, enhancing investment attraction, stimulating industries, and increasing the proportion of local content and non-oil Saudi exports, lauding the effective and vital role of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the National Development Fund.
Saudi Crown Prince: We are Moving Towards Better Future that Befits KSA’s Status
The SPA reported that the Crown Prince also stressed the continuation of work to develop the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) public financial performance by increasing financial capacity and building government reserves in a way that enhances the capacity of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) economy, maintains sustainable levels of public debt, and enables it to address any developments or crises that may emerge in the future.
The Crown Prince said that the increase in spending is mainly because of the government’s keenness to continue developing the level of public services provided to citizens, visitors and residents, implementing various projects and expanding spending on sectoral and regional development strategies that would attain positive structural changes that lead to increasing and diversifying the economic base, the SPA reported
According to the SPA, the Crown Prince highlighted the imperative of fostering and strengthening partnerships with the private sector to facilitate and encourage its participation in driving economic diversification. This initiative aims to boost the labor market by accommodating a larger Saudi workforce, generating employment opportunities, and decreasing unemployment rates, considering the recent increase to about 2.3 million Saudis in the labor force. The Crown Prince also highlighted the importance of cultivating an enhanced investment atmosphere to attract both domestic and foreign investors, promote non-oil exports, and enhance the non-oil trade balance, the SPA added.
Furthermore, the Crown Prince emphasized the current journey toward economic diversification, especially in supporting promising fields. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia aims to elevate tourism goals to 150 million visitors, locally and globally, by 2030. Additionally, efforts are directed towards fortifying the sports sector via the Sports Clubs Investment and Privatization Project to align with the objectives outlined in the Saudi Vision 2030, leveraging the accelerated increase and diverse opportunities in these fields.
Addressing the pivotal role of the industrial sector in the Saudi Arabia’s economy, the Crown Prince underlined plans to diversify the industrial base and value chains. This strategy, encapsulated in the National Industrial Strategy focusing on twelve subsectors, aims to around triple industrial domestic production to SAR 895 billion by 2030 compared to 2020 figures. The objective is to significantly contribute to the expansion of non-oil exports.
About the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) pivotal leadership role regionally and globally, the Crown Prince emphasized the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) commitment to global security and stability, recognizing these as foundational pillars for prosperity and development. Additionally, the Crown Prince highlighted the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) dedication to developing and stabilizing supply chains and values, crucial for global economic prosperity and development, the SPA added.
In conclusion, the Crown Prince reaffirmed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) steadfast determination in the upcoming year and the medium to long term to further increase its economic appeal for both local and foreign investors, highlighting the diversification of all economic sectors, the SPA further said.
